One other person, place or group in the registry answers to the name Ner. Every Ner in the Bible
- verses
- 14
- first named
- 1 Samuel 14:50
- last named
- 1 Chronicles 26:28
- period
- United Monarchy
- tribe
- Benjamin
Description
Who was Ner?
Ner was an important figure in the early history of Israel's monarchy, primarily known as the father of Abner, the commander of King Saul's army. He was a member of the tribe of Benjamin and a close relative of Saul, as evidenced by the fact that Saul and Abner are referred to as sons of Ner (1Sa.14.50-51).
Although little is known about Ner's life, his significance lies in his family's connection to the first king of Israel, Saul. As the father of Abner, Ner's lineage played a crucial role in the political and military leadership of Israel during Saul's reign.
Abner, as the commander of Saul's army, is mentioned several times in the biblical narrative, particularly in the context of the conflict between Saul and David (1Sa.26.5, 14). After Saul's death, Abner supported Saul's son, Ish-bosheth, as king over Israel, while David was anointed as king over Judah (2Sa.2.8-9).
The tension between Abner and David's forces is evident in the accounts of their military encounters (2Sa.2.12-17). However, Abner eventually defected to David's side after a falling out with Ish-bosheth (2Sa.3.6-21). Tragically, Abner was later killed by Joab, David's commander, in an act of revenge for the death of Joab's brother (2Sa.3.22-30).
David mourned Abner's death and publicly declared his innocence in the matter (2Sa.3.31-39). The incident with Abner is also mentioned in the context of Solomon's reign, as David instructed Solomon to deal with Joab for his role in Abner's murder (1Ki.2.5-6, 32-34).
Ner is also briefly mentioned in genealogical records, such as in 1Ch.9.36, where he is listed among the ancestors of Saul, and in 1Ch.26.28, which notes that some of the dedicated treasures in the temple were from the days of Samuel, Saul, Abner, and Joab.
Although Ner himself is not the primary focus of the biblical narrative, his family's connection to Saul and the early monarchy of Israel makes him a significant figure in the historical context of the Old Testament.
Relations
Direct connections
Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.
The 10 best-attested of 12 are drawn. All 12 are listed below.
Places
Where this happens
A person is placed by the events they take part in, and an event has to clear three things to place them: it must say where it happened, that place must be one the gazetteer can put a coordinate on, and the verse must report it rather than foretell, command or ask it. Nothing anchored here clears all three. Where the text names a setting no gazetteer surveys — a vineyard, a palace, a plot of ground — it is left off rather than guessed at; where a place is named only in a prophecy, the map does not draw what was said to be coming as though it had happened; and a place reached only through a relation is not inherited, because standing beside somebody is not being somewhere.
No verse Atlas has read as a report puts this person anywhere.
Not read yet
The pattern
Where Ner is named
Every book of the corpus in the order it is read, each as wide as the chapters it holds. A bar is the verses of that book which write the name, and the flat stretches are as much of the answer as the bars.
14 verses across 4 of 66 books; 62 write the name nowhere. Named in 1 Samuel (4), 2 Samuel (6), 1 Kings (2) and 1 Chronicles (2).
Read it
Where to read it
Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 14, across 4 books.
Onward
Where this page goes
Not the direct relations above — these are one hop further out, ranked so that a rare shared connection outweighs a common one. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.
Sources